Dick’s Suspends Some Rifle Sales Nationwide Post Shooting

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. is pulling the products after 26 people -- mostly
children -- were killed during a Dec. 14 shooting rampage at an elementary school in Newtown. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., the
largest U.S. sporting-goods chain, suspended sales of modern
sporting rifles nationwide after the shooting in Newtown,
Connecticut as the massacre’s victims are mourned.

Sales of all guns have been stopped at its store closest to
the shooting, the Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based company said
today in an e-mailed statement.

Dick’s is pulling the products after 26 people -- mostly
children -- were killed during a Dec. 14 shooting rampage at an
elementary school in Newtown. The chain, which has more than 500
stores in the U.S., sells guns and ammunition in stores and not
online, according to its website.

“We are extremely saddened by the unspeakable tragedy that
occurred last week,” the company said in the statement. Dick’s
is removing the guns “out of respect for the victims and their
families.”

Dick’s representatives didn’t return phone calls or e-mails
seeking more information on how long the ban would be in place.

While Dick’s suspended some gun purchases, Hyatt Gun Shop
in Charlotte, North Carolina racked up its best day since it
opened in 1959, according to Justin Anderson, director of online
sales. Revenue at Hyatt, one of the largest U.S. gun stores,
surpassed $1 million today when combining Internet and in-store
sales, about 10 times the total on this day a year ago, he said.

Sales Spike

The last sales spike like this came when Barack Obama was
elected president in 2008, Anderson said. Sales weren’t as
robust when Obama was re-elected last month because the
president hadn’t backed major new gun laws, he said.

That’s changed as Obama would support restoring a ban on
assault weapons and requiring background checks at gun shows,
White House press secretary Jay Carney said today.

The Bushmaster AR-15, one of the guns authorities say was
used at Newtown, that sells for as much as $4,000 had almost
sold out at Hyatt, Anderson said. The shop’s buyer is looking
for distributors to buy more.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘I’m worried that I’m going
to lose some facet of my gun rights,’” Anderson said in a
telephone interview. “They want to make sure they get this now
while they still can.”

The AR-15 platform of guns is a modern sporting rifle that
looks like an M-16 military rifle, according to the website of
the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for
the firearms industry. The major difference is that the AR-15 is
semi-automatic, meaning one round is released with each pull of
the trigger, the group said.

Wal-Mart, Cabela’s

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. hasn’t suspended the sales of guns at
its stores and doesn’t plan to do so, David Tovar, a spokesman,
said in an e-mail. The company doesn’t sell guns on its website,
Tovar said. While Wal-Mart removed a description of the
Bushmaster AR-15 used in Newtown from its website, the company
will continue to sell that model, he said.

Part of Wal-Mart’s commitment to gun safety is its
involvement in the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, Tovar
said.

“We remain dedicated to the safe and responsible sale of
firearms in areas of the country where they are sold,” he said.

Wal-Mart doesn’t disclose how many guns it sells. The
company gave some details during a meeting in November when it
said revenue from guns in the first half of this fiscal year had
gained 76 percent.

Gun Revenue

While Dick’s doesn’t provide gun sales either, Chief
Executive Officer Edward Stack said in November that the
election had made guns and ammunition account for a larger
portion of its revenue.

Cabela’s Inc., an outdoor retailer that also sells guns,
didn’t return several calls seeking comment on whether it
planned to change its firearm policies. Hunting equipment, which
includes firearms, made up 41 percent of Cabela’s sales in 2011,
according to a company filing. The retailer doesn’t provide
sales data for just guns.

Dick’s rose 1.7 percent to $46.35 at the close in New York.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart rose 0.4 percent to $69.50.
Cabela’s, based in Sidney, Nebraska, declined 5.9 percent to
$38.77.